Recently, we found out about the passing of Wayne Mouland, founder of Echo CleanUp – a non-profit organization dedicated to cleaning up the green spaces and waterfronts around Lake Ontario. We wanted to share this blog, written a while ago, about the amazing work that he did, in honour of all of the positive changes that he made on our planet. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends, and we will continue to support Echo CleanUp.
You would think that after years of literally screaming and posting signs everywhere you look to not litter that people would get the point and take care of the green spaces in their neighborhoods. After 3 years of organizing public litter clean-ups, the Echo CleanUp community is still hard at work to clean up our green spaces and continues to operate in Wayne’s honor.
The Echo CleanUp was born from the practices of EchoMovement with a focus on cleaning our surroundings, as well as ourselves, through meditation. By practicing self-awareness and being conscious of our environment, starting more mindful waste disposal habits are easier than we think. Even things like;
- being mindful of proper recycling rules
- donating items that can be reused by others
- ensuring that your waste is properly secured to prevent pests from scrounging in it
Wayne could be found leading the community cleanups and always made sure to pick up a minimum of two bags every cleanup! He inspired not only the volunteers that signed up and joined in, but also the community in the beaches, parks, and communities around the area to grab his provided tools and join in the clean-up.
Wayne always strived for a litter-free community, as was one of his favorite quotes! Single-use plastics are one of, if not the most common item that is consistently found in every cleanup. Plastic water bottles, cups, wrappers, straws, lids and so much more are littering these beautiful places. Wayne and the Echo CleanUp project is an incredible organization, as they preach that if we can reduce plastic waste then there will be much less waste invading our space!
We encourage you to learn more about Echo CleanUp and their affiliate charities with a special shout-out to Feeditforward focused on reducing food waste and helping everyone in the Toronto area to find food.
Visit www.echocleanup.com to help create awareness and fall in love with the process of putting waste in its place and working together for a litter-free community. We encourage you to volunteer with Echo CleanUp or donate to keep them running! Thank you for everything you’ve done Wayne, we appreciate you.
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